In-vehicle apparatus and control method of in-vehicle apparatus

ABSTRACT

An in-vehicle apparatus and a control method of an in-vehicle apparatus, which is applied to a multimedia terminal having, for example, a function of navigation equipment and a function of video playback so as to improve usability to a user in a case of accepting an operation through a touch panel and a remote commander. A touch panel menu screen suitable for an operation through a touch panel and a remote commander menu screen suitable for an operation through a remote commander are switched to be displayed so as to accept an operation by a user.

CROSS REFERENCES TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of, and claims the benefit ofpriority under 35 U.S.C. §120 from, U.S. application Ser. No.13/679,574, filed Nov. 16, 2012 which is a continuation of U.S.application Ser. No. 11/959,093 filed Dec. 18, 2007 (now U.S. Pat. No.8,339,369), which is a division of, and claims the benefit of priorityunder 35 U.S.C. §120 from, U.S. application Ser. No. 10/946,238 filedSep. 22, 2004 (now U.S. Pat. No. 7,546,188 issued Jun. 9, 2009), whichclaims the benefit of priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 from JapanesePriority Document JP 2003-332768 filed in the Japanese Patent Office onSep. 25, 2003. The entire contents of each of which are incorporatedherein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an in-vehicle apparatus and a controlmethod of an in-vehicle apparatus, and is applicable to, for example, amultimedia terminal having a function of navigation equipment and afunction of video playback. The present invention aims at improvingusability to a user in a case of accepting operations through a touchpanel and a remote commander, by switching and displaying a touch panelmenu screen suitable for operation through the touch panel, and a remotecommander menu screen suitable for operation through the remotecommander, in order to accept operations of the user.

2. Description of Related Art

Traditionally, in car navigation equipment that is an in-vehicleapparatus, a technique disclosed, for example, in Japanese PatentApplication Publication Laid-Open No. Hei 10-141974 is applied so thatmenus are displayed in a hierarchical structure, and selection of themenus is accepted through a touch panel, thereby accepting operations ofa user. In the car navigation equipment, the selection of the menus inthe hierarchical structure is also acceptable by the operation of aremote commander, so that it is able to operate the equipment throughthe remote commander, while the equipment is mainly operated through thetouch panel.

In a monitor unit relating to video, such as a television receiver andthe like, it is configured to accept switching of display objects by theoperation of operators disposed on a control panel, and by the operationof a remote commander. Herein, “operator” in the present specificationmeans elements used for inputting operation instruction, such as abutton, a key, a dial and the like.

By way of contrast, there has recently been proposed an in-vehicleapparatus having the navigation function and the video regenerationfunction as described above. Also in this in-vehicle apparatus, variousoperations of user are considered to be accepted by the operation of atouch panel and the operation of a remote commander.

However, in this in-vehicle apparatus, there is a problem that merelyintegrating conventional car navigation equipment and a user interfacerelating to a monitor unit degrades usability of the equipment.

Thus, the operation through the touch panel has an advantage that adesired menu is quickly selectable because a desired menu can beselected with a number of menus displayed. However, there is adisadvantage that attention for safety is required in an application toan in-vehicle apparatus, because at the time of operation, it isnecessary to turn the eyes toward a screen and watch the menus.

On the other hand, in the operation of the remote commander, it is ableto operate by blind touch by assigning a dedicated function to each ofthe operators of the remote commander. Thereby, in an application to acar audio system, the burden of operation can be reduced than theoperation through the touch panel. However, when selecting the menu inthe hierarchical structure, as in the car navigation equipment, itbecomes necessary to ultimately operate by tracking a display relatingto the operation of the touch panel. In this case, there is adisadvantage that operability deteriorates remarkably than the operationof the touch panel.

Patent Document 1

-   Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. Hei 10-141974

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has achieved in consideration of the foregoingpoints, and is to propose an in-vehicle apparatus and a control methodof an in-vehicle apparatus, with which it is able to improve usabilityto a user in a case of accepting operations through a touch panel and aremote commander.

In order to solve the foregoing problems, an aspect of the presentinvention is applied to an in-vehicle apparatus that displays aplurality of menus and, in response to selection of a menu by operationsthrough a touch panel and a remote commander, performs processingcorresponding to the menu. A touch panel menu screen suitable foroperation through the touch panel, and a remote commander menu screensuitable for operation through the remote commander are switched anddisplayed in response to an operation by a user, and the operation bythe user is accepted through the switched and displayed menu screen.

Further, another aspect of the present invention is applied to a controlmethod of an in-vehicle apparatus that displays a plurality of menusand, in response to selection of a menu by operations through a touchpanel and a remote commander, performs processing corresponding to themenu. A touch panel menu screen suitable for operation through the touchpanel, and a remote commander menu screen suitable for operation throughthe remote commander are switched and displayed in response to anoperation by a user, and the operation by the user is accepted throughthe switched and displayed menu screen.

According to a configuration of the aspect of the present invention,depending on whether the user operates the touch panel or operates theremote commander, the operation by the user can be accepted through themenu screen suitable for the operations through the touch panel orthrough the remote commander, respectively. This enables to improveusability in a case of accepting operations through the touch panel andthe remote commander.

Therefore, according to the configuration of another aspect of thepresent invention, it is able to provide a control method of anin-vehicle apparatus capable of improving usability to user.

According to the present invention, it is able to improve usability in acase of accepting operations through a touch panel and a remotecommander.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an in-vehicle apparatus accordingto an embodiment of the present invention, together with its peripheralstructure;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the in-vehicle apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3A to FIG. 3C are a plan view and side views of a remote commanderof the in-vehicle apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a program menu screen for a touch panel ofthe in-vehicle apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a program menu screen for the remotecommander of the in-vehicle apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are plan views each showing a main display screenand a list display screen relating to provision of video content in thein-vehicle apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7A to FIG. 7E are views for explaining a control bar in the maindisplay screen of FIG. 6A;

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing the main display screen relating toprovision of music content in the in-vehicle apparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a map display in the in-vehicle equipmentof FIG. 1;

FIG. 10 is a plan view for explaining navigation in the in-vehicleapparatus of FIG. 1;

FIG. 11 is a plan view for explaining menus in the main display screenof FIG. 9;

FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D are plan views for explaining an informationdisplay in the main display screen of FIG. 9;

FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining operations of a sourceoperator and a map operator;

FIG. 14A to FIG. 14C are schematic diagrams for explaining an operationof a display operator; and

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a display screen relating twoapplications.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will now be described indetail, while suitably referring to the drawings.

Example 1

(1) Configuration of Preferred Embodiment

(1-1) Overall Configuration of in-Vehicle Apparatus

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a content providing system relatingto an in-vehicle apparatus 1 according to one preferred embodiment ofthe present invention. The in-vehicle apparatus 1, which is a multimediaterminal having a function of a navigation unit and a function of acontent providing unit for playing back audio and video, is formed inthe shape of a plate having a predetermined thickness, and constructedso as to be usable by setting on an in-vehicle cradle 2A disposed in acenter console of a vehicle, as indicated by an arrow A.

Thus, in the in-vehicle unit 1, terminals relating to input/output ofvarious data, and the like are disposed on a lower end face. In a casewhere the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is set on the in-vehicle cradle 2A, thein-vehicle apparatus 1 is connected through the terminal of the lowerend face to the in-vehicle cradle 2A, so that it receives power supplyand the like, and can input and output further various data necessaryfor operation, and the like.

Alternatively, it is able to remove and bring back the in-vehicleapparatus 1 from the in-vehicle cradle 2A. For example, by setting on ahome cradle 2B disposed in house, the in-vehicle apparatus 1 isconfigured so as to be connectable via the home cradle 2B to a computer3 and a television receiver 4, as indicated by an arrow B.

In the connection to the computer 3 via the home cradle 2B, thein-vehicle apparatus 1 is used to upload and download various filesnecessary for operations as a multimedia terminal. Therefore, thecomputer 3 is configured such that, in accordance with activation of anapplication corresponding to the in-vehicle apparatus 1, a predeterminedfile retained in the computer 3 is uploaded via the home cradle 2B tothe in-vehicle apparatus 1, and conversely, a predetermined file isdownloaded from the in-vehicle apparatus 1. The in-vehicle apparatus 1is configured such that files relating to AV content, files ofelectronic mails, and files of maps used for navigation are applicableas a file used for such upload and download, and further, files ofmovies and television programs, etc., and music files are applied as thefiles relating to AV content.

On the other hand, in the connection with the television receiver 4 viathe home cradle 2B, it is configured so as to function as a multimediaterminal and provide various contents to user via the televisionreceiver 4, and further display a map on the television receiver 4 andexecute processing such as route search relating to the function ofnavigation.

Accordingly, a display screen 11, on which the content and the like aredisplayed at the time of mounting on a vehicle, is formed on a frontsurface, and a power switch 12 is disposed above on the right side ofthe display screen 11. In addition, on a control panel on the oppositeside of the power switch 12, operators 13P to 18P of source, program,menu, display, and volume are disposed in an order from top to bottom.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the in-vehicle apparatus 1, togetherwith its related configurations. The in-vehicle apparatus 1 is connectedvia the in-vehicle cradle 2A to an external unit 21. Here, the externalunit 21 is disposed under a seat, for example, and there are disposed atuner unit 23, an optical disc drive 24, and the like.

Here, the tuner unit 23 receives, under the control of the in-vehicleapparatus 1, television broadcast waves, and traffic informationrelating to vehicle information and communication system (VICS), andoutputs to the in-vehicle cradle 2A video data, audio data, and trafficinformation according to the receiving results. Thereby, with thein-vehicle apparatus 1 set on the in-vehicle cradle 2A, it is able toenjoy television broadcasts, and also obtain the traffic information andnotify a user of the information.

Under similar control of the in-vehicle apparatus 1, the optical discdrive 24, plays back optical discs such as digital versatile disc (DVD),and compact disc, etc., and outputs video data and audio data to thein-vehicle cradle 2A. Thereby, with the in-vehicle apparatus 1 set onthe in-vehicle cradle 2A, it is able to enjoy AV content through variousoptical discs by AUX input.

On the other hand, the in-vehicle cradle 2A is provided with a GPS unit22 and an audio output unit 27. Here, the GPS unit 22 is a currentposition detecting apparatus relating to global positioning system(GPS), and detects and outputs the current position under the control ofthe in-vehicle apparatus 1. Thereby, in a case of setting the in-vehicleapparatus 1 on the in-vehicle cradle 2A, it is able to executenavigation processing on the basis of information regarding the currentposition detected with the GPS unit 22.

In the home cradle 2B, a similar output unit is disposed and configuredso as to output, by wire, such audio signals, voice signals, and videosignals. Thereby, with the in-vehicle apparatus 1 set thereon, it isable to provide various AV contents through the television receiver 4.

Accordingly, the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is provided with an interface26, which is, by setting on the in-vehicle cradle 2A, connected to aninterface 25 of the in-vehicle cradle 2A, and inputs and outputs variousdata relating to the external unit 21, with the interface (I/F) 25.

The interface 26 is configured so as to operate under the control of acontroller 33 and, in a case where the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is set onthe in-vehicle cradle 2A, input and output various data with respect tothe external unit 21, and also input and output the data relating tothis input and output, with a bus BUS. On the other hand, in a casewhere the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is set on the home cradle 2B, it isconfigured so as to input and output data relating to upload anddownload, with the computer 3.

Further in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, under the control of thecontroller 33, an interface (I/F) 31 inputs and outputs various datawith a memory card 32, which is inserted from a card slot disposed onthe side surface of the in-vehicle apparatus 1, and also inputs andoutputs this data with the bus BUS. Thereby, the in-vehicle apparatus 1is configured so as to be able to capture, for example, a still imageobtained by a digital still camera via the memory card 32, and to thecontrary, record the captured still image in the memory card 32.

A communication unit 34, which is a transmitting/receiving unit relatingto wireless communication local area network (LAN), transmits data to beoutputted to the bus BUS under the control of the controller 33 to thenetwork, and also obtains desired data via the network, and outputs itto the bus BUS. Thereby, the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is configured so asto connect the Internet via the communication unit 34, and also transmitand receive electronic mails.

A hard disk drive (HDD) 35 records and holds programs and content, etc.,relating to the processing of the in-vehicle apparatus 1, and outputsthese data to the bus BUS under the control of the controller 33.Thereby, the hard disk drive 35 is configured so as to hold the data ofvarious files inputted from external equipment via the interfaces 26,31, various data obtained via the communication unit 34, data outputtedto these external equipment, data relating to electronic mails, etc.,and output them to the bus BUS, as required. Here, it is configured suchthat this program is provided by previous install. Instead of this, itmay be recorded in the hard disk drive 35 by downloading from arecording medium via the interfaces 36, 31, or by downloading from anetwork with use of the communication unit 34. In this case, as therecording medium, various recording media such as an optical disc, amemory card, and a magnetic tape are applicable widely.

A display unit 37, which is composed of, for example, a liquid crystaldisplay for forming the display screen 11 described above with referenceto FIG. 1, displays various content, maps, etc., under the control ofthe controller 33.

An input unit 38 is composed of a structure relating to a touch panelfor detecting operations through a touch panel 39 disposed on thedisplay screen 11, a receiving unit 41R for receiving remote controlsignals outputted from a remote commander 40, and an interface fordetecting operations of operators 13P to 18P for sources, programs, etc.The input unit 38 notifies the controller 33 the operations of user thatare detected by these. Thereby, the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is configuredso as to execute switching of operations, and the like, by theoperations of the operators 13P to 18P disposed on the side of thedisplay screen 11, or the operation of the touch panel 39 disposed onthe display screen 11, or the operation of the remote commander 40.

(1-2) Remote Commander

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are a plan view and a side view showing the remotecommander 40. The remote commander 40 is formed in an elongate plateshape having a predetermined thickness, and has on one end face of theshorter-side thereof a light-sending unit 41S for outputting remotecontrol signals by means of infrared ray. In the remote commander 40, onthe left side of the upper side surface than the side on which thelight-sending unit 41S is disposed, there is disposed an operator 42composed of a seesaw switch used for switching between zoom-out andzoom-in in displaying maps. A joystick 43 that is a press-operablepointing device is disposed in the proximity of the operator 42. On theright side of the joystick 43, a display operator 16R, and a mapoperator 17R are disposed upward and downward directions, respectively.On the front side from these controllers, a current position operator 44for instructing the display of the current position is formedhorizontally. Thus in the remote commander 40, the operators 42, 43, 44,relating to navigation are collectively disposed in the proximity of themap operator 17R.

Further, in the remote commander 40, a program operator 14R and a menuoperator 15R are disposed on the front side of the current positionoperator 44. A jog dial (hereinafter referred to as a “center jog”) thatis a press-operable rotational operator is disposed at the center offurther front side, and a back operator 48 and a forward operator 47 aredisposed on the left and right of the center jog 46. Thus, theseoperators 14R, 15R, 46 to 48 are operators relating to the menusdisplayed on the display screen 11, so that the operators relating tothe menus are collectively disposed in this preferred embodiment.

In the remote commander 40, a cover 49 is disposed on a further nearside of the center jog 46. The cover 49 opens to a front side. It isconstructed such that an operator 50 comprising a plurality of keysrelating to character input and numeric input such as numerical keypad,a clear key, etc. can be operated by opening the cover 49.

Further, on one side surface of the remote commander 40, a sourceoperator 13R, a jog dial (hereinafter referred to as a “side jog”) 52,which is a rotary operator that can be pressed, a back operator 53, anda source-off operator 54 are disposed from top to bottom. Theseoperators 13R, and 52 to 54 are operators relating to playing back ofaudio video, that is, the operators relating to operations, possiblyoperated by so-called blind touch. Thus, the usability of the remotecommander 40 can be improved by collectively disposing these operators13R and 52 to 54 on one side surface.

In response to the operations of these operators, the controller 33(FIG. 2) executes a program recorded in the hard disk drive 35, therebyexecuting navigation processing and also providing various contents tothe user, in response to the operations by the user.

Alternatively, when a user instructs viewing of video content recordedin the hard disk drive 35, the controller 33 instructs the hard diskdrive 35 to play a file relating to the video content, and providesvideo data and audio data outputted from the hard disk drive 35 to theuser, as in the case of receiving television broadcasts. Alternatively,when the user instructs playback of music content recorded in the harddisk drive 35, the controller 33 similarly instructs the hard disk drive35 to play the music content, and causes the output unit 27 to outputaudio data outputted from the hard disk drive 35. If during theseprocessing, the user instructs switching of the content as a playbacktarget, the controller 33 changes the file read from the hard disk drive35 to repeat similar processing.

Alternatively, when the user instructs display of a map, currentposition information is obtained from the GPS unit 22, and map datarecorded in the hard disk drive 35 is loaded with reference to thecurrent position information. In addition, based on the loaded map data,a map is displayed on the display unit 37.

Alternatively, when viewing and listening of content relating to AUXinput is instructed, the controller 33 controls via the interface 26 theoperation of the optical disc drive 24 to obtain data relating to videocontent and music content outputted from the optical disc drive 24. Inaddition, the obtained data of the video content and the music contentare processed in respective units to provide these contents to the user.Further, based on the instruction of the user, the content so obtainedare recorded in the hard disk drive 35.

Alternatively, when browsing of the Internet is instructed, thecontroller 33 activates a browser software to connect the Internetthrough the communication unit 34, and displays video and the likeobtained through the communication unit 34 on the display unit 37, andoutputs voice data from the output unit 27. Alternatively, whenprocessing relating to electronic mails is instructed, the controller 33activates a mailer software to display on the display unit 37 electronicmails held in the hard disk drive 35, and obtains via the communicationunit 34 the electronic mails to be displayed. In addition, thecontroller 33 accepts the input of electronic mail by the user, andsends this electronic mail via the communication unit 34.

Alternatively, when viewing of a still image is instructed, thecontroller 33 obtains a still image file of a processing target byaccessing to the memory card 32 via the interface 31, or accessing tothe hard disk drive 35, and displays a still image relating to thisstill image file on the display unit 37. In addition, on the basis ofthe instruction of the user, the controller 33 inputs and outputs thisstill image file between the memory card 32 and the hard disk drive 35,or deletes it from the record of the memory card 32 and the hard diskdrive 35.

Alternatively, when the user instructs navigation processing, thecontroller 33 accepts the input such as destination and the like by theuser, and obtains the current position information from the GPS unit 22,and then executes route search processing, on the basis of thisinformation. In response to the setting made by the user, the controller33 outputs various information so as to perform route guide of the useron the basis of the route so detected.

The controller 33 executes these processing by executing a programrecorded in the hard disk drive 35. When the user presses the powerswitch 12 to turn off the power of the in-vehicle apparatus 1, thecontroller 33 records and holds the state at the time of power-off.Alternatively, the power is turned on by the operation of the powerswitch 12, or by press-operation of the joystick 43 in the remotecommander 40 so that the recorded and held state during the power fallis reproduced.

(1-3) Processing by Controller

FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a touch panel program menu screen that isdisplayed on the display screen 11 by the control of the controller 33.Here, this touch panel program menu screen is a menu screen suitable foroperation through the touch panel 39. In this preferred embodiment, itis configured to also prepare a remote commander program menu screenthat accomplishes the same function as the touch panel program menuscreen and is suitable for the operation through the remote commander40. The controller 33 displays the touch panel program menu screen in acase where it can be judged that the operation of user instructing thedisplay of this program menu screen is intended for the operationthrough the touch panel 39.

Specifically, if the program operator 14P disposed on the control panelof the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is operated, or in a case where the menuto go backward is selected through the touch panel 39 on the displayscreen relating to a lower hierarchy of this program menu screen, orfurther, in a case where the operation by the user on a portion otherthan the menus is detected in a state of displaying the program menuscreen relating to the remote commander, which will be described later,the controller 33 displays the touch panel program menu screen.

Here, the program menu screen is a main menu screen relating toselection of content to be provided to the user, and the like, and isformed by displaying a menu of selectable applications in the in-vehicleapparatus 1. Here, as a program menu screen, there are displayed a TVmenu M1 to instruct receiving of television broadcasts, a video menu M2to instruct playback of video content recorded in the hard disk drive35, an audio menu M3 to instruct playback of music content recorded inthe hard disk drive 35, a map menu M4 to instruct display of a map, anAUX menu M5 to instruct playback of contents relating to AUX input, aWEB menu M6 to instruct activation of a browser relating to theInternet, a mail menu M7 to instruct processing relating to electronicmails, and a photo menu M8 to instruct processing of a still image.There is also displayed a menu M11 to back to the state immediatelybefore this program menu screen.

On this program menu screen, among these menus M1 to M8 and M11, themenus M1 to M8 relating to the selection of applications have the samesize. Since none of the menus M1 to M8 is provided with a cursor or thelike indicating a focus, they are aligned and displayed. This has userpercept that any of these menus M1 to M8 can be selected by theoperation of the touch panel 39. Thereby, if any one of the menus M1 toM8 on this program menu screen is selected by the operation of the touchpanel 39, the controller 33 controls the entire operation so as toexecute the corresponding processing.

If the back menu M11 is selected and operated with this program menuscreen displayed, the display screen is switched to the last display. Onthe other hand, if the center jog 46 of the remote commander 40 isoperated with this program menu screen displayed, the display screen isswitched to the remote commander program menu screen.

Meanwhile, FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the remote commander programmenu screen. The controller 33 displays this remote commander programmenu screen when it can be judged that the operation of the userinstructing the display of this program menu screen is intended for theoperation through the remote commander 40.

Specifically, if the program operator 14R disposed at the remotecommander 40 is operated in the state of providing content to user, andthe like, or if the back operator 48 of the remote commander 40 isoperated in the state of displaying a display screen relating to a lowerhierarchy of this program menu, the controller 33 displays this remotecommander program menu screen. In addition, as described above, it alsodisplays this remote commander program menu screen when the center jog46 is operated in the state of displaying the touch panel program menuscreen.

Here, this remote commander program menu screen is formed by displayinga menu of applications selectable with the in-vehicle apparatus 1, as inthe program menu screen relating to the operation of the touch panel.Further, menus M1R to M8R of respective application programs aredisplayed by the same design as the program menu screen relating to theoperation of the touch panel 39. Thereby, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1,menu screens are switched so as to reliably select a desiredapplication.

Therefore, on this program menu screen relating to the operation of theremote commander 40, the controller 33 is configured to display as towhich application can be selected immediately, together with otherselectable menus.

Thus, if the center jog 46 disposed at the remote commander 40 isrotationally operated in the state of displaying this program menuscreen relating to the operation of the remote commander 40, thecontroller 33 rotates the display position of the menus M1R to M8R inresponse to the direction of rotation of the center jog 46, as indicatedby an arrow A, and also changes the size of the respective menus M1R toM8R so as to correspond to the rotation of the display position.Thereby, the focus of a menu can be switched in response to the user'soperation of the remote commander 40. Alternatively, if the center jog46 is further press-operated, or if the forward controller 47 of theremote commander 40 is operated, the controller 33 controls the entireoperation so as to execute the application relating to a focused menu(for example, in FIG. 5, the menu located at the leftmost).

If one of the menus M1R to M8R is selected by the operation of the touchpanel 39 on this remote commander program menu screen, the controller 33controls the entire operation so as to execute the application relatingto the menu selected in response to the selection of the menus. On theother hand, if the operation on a portion other than the menus M1R toM8R is detected with the touch panel 39, the display is switched to thetouch panel program menu screen.

FIG. 6A is a plan view showing a main display screen relating to themenu M2 displayed in accordance with the instruction as described above.In this case, the controller 33 displays the image of content at an areaexcept for a strip portion on the lower side of the display screen. Atthis time, the controller 33 records and holds the file relating to themenu M2 played back last time, and the played back status of this fileand the like (so-called last memory). In accordance with this record,the controller 33 plays back and provides the user the correspondingcontent from the position at which playback is suspended. Thereby, thein-vehicle apparatus 1 is configured so as to easily view desiredcontent from the position at which the last viewing is suspended.

On the other hand, various menus relating to this application aredisplayed at a strip region in a lower end of this display screen,together with information related to the image that is being displayed.Hereinafter, this strip display is called “control bar”. Specifically,an OFF menu M21 for instructing termination of this application, whichalso functions as a back menu, is displayed on the leftmost of a controlbar B1. The controller 33 causes this application to be terminated bythe operation of the OFF menu M21 through the touch panel 39, andswitches the display to the touch panel program menu screen.Subsequently, a title, which is attribute information of the contentbeing displayed, is displayed at the control bar B1. Here, if the lengthof this title is longer than the length of the region for displaying thetitle, the controller 33 displays the title by scroll. Subsequently,various operation menus are displayed by right justification at thecontrol bar B1.

Here, a rewind menu M22, a back-to-previous-chapter menu M23, aplayback/pause switching menu M24, an forward-to-next-chapter menu M25,a fast forward menu M26, a list display menu M27, a switching menu M28for switching display/non-display of the control bar B1 are displayed insequence on this operation menu. When the operation of each of thesemenus is detected by the operation of the touch panel 39, the controller33 controls the operations of respective units so as to correspond tothe operation by the user.

Alternatively, when the center jog 46 of the remote commander 40 isoperated with the control bar B1 so displayed, or in a case where thedisplay is switched to a display screen relating to the menu M1 by theoperation of the remote commander 40, the controller 33 displays acursor on one of the menus M21 to M28 by means of a bounding box, anddisplays the menu focused by this cursor. Further, the controller 33switches focuses in sequence among the menus M21 to M28 by moving insequence this cursor by the rotational operation of the center jog 46.In addition, by the press-operation of the center jog 46, or by theoperation of the forward operator 47, the controller 33 acceptsselection of the focused menu, and controls the operations of respectiveunits, as in the menu selection through the touch panel 39. On the otherhand, in a case where the back operator 48 is operated through theremote commander 40, similarly to a case where the OFF menu M21 isselected, the controller 33 switches the display to the program menuscreen. In this case, the controller 33 switches the display to theremote commander program menu screen.

In the control relating to these menus M21 to M28, in a case where theuser selects the list display menu M27, the controller 33 switches theentire display to a list screen as shown in FIG. 6B. Here, this listscreen is a list display of content, etc. selectable by the user. Atitle specifying an application is displayed on an upper part of thescreen, and a setting menu M265 to execute various settings relating tothis application is displayed on the right corner of the display of thistitle. In addition, a back menu M261, a cabinet menu M262, a play listmenu M263, and a video capsule menu M264 are disposed in sequence on theright side of the screen. Here, the cabinet menu M262 is a menu forinstructing so-called list display of folders. Upon the selection of themenu M262, a list of selectable folders is displayed on the list displayon the right side. The play list menu M263 is a menu for instructing thelist display of selectable content about the currently selected folderthrough such a list of folders, or the like. By this menu selection, thelist of selectable content is displayed on the list display on the rightside. The video capsule menu M264 is a menu for instructing display of athumbnail image about one of the content on the list display.

A region for displaying this thumbnail image is disposed at the centerof this list screen. In a case where the video capsule menu M264 is notselected, the content currently played back is displayed at this region.

In addition, menus of a lower hierarchy, which correspond to the menusM261 to M264 of the upper hierarchy disposed on the left side, aredisplayed on the right side of the display region of this thumbnailimage on this list screen. Specifically, there is formed a list displayof contents and folders corresponding to the menus M261 to M264 selectedby the user. A list, including the menu of content currently played backon this list display, is displayed immediately after displaying thislist screen. Here, this list display is to be formed by displaying thetitles of respective contents and the names set on a folder on the menu.Therefore, the example of FIG. 6B is the case where this list indicatesthe list of contents relating to the play list menu M263. In a casewhere all of the lists of selectable content and folders cannot bedisplayed at the display region of this list, the controller 33 displaysthe selectable content and folders by scrolling of this list display,and also indicates by an arrow the direction in which scroll ispossible, on the left side of this list. Therefore, in the example ofFIG. 6B, upward and downward arrows are provided to indicate that thelist of content exists extending beyond above and below the displayregion.

Also in this case, the controller 33 displays a scroll bar B2 on theright side of this list display, and also displays menus MU, MD forinstructing upward and downward scrolls, respectively, on the top andthe bottom of the scroll bar B2. Further, the control bar B1 is alsodisplayed on a lower part of the screen on this list screen. In thislist, the focused menu is displayed so as to project to the left.

The controller 33 switches list displays and the like by controlling theoperations of respective units so as to correspond to the menu selectedby the user, in selecting these menus M261 to M265 through the touchpanel 39, and the menus of the control bar B1. In other words, if theuser selects one of list displays so displayed, by the operation of thetouch panel 39, the content to be played back is switched to theuser-selected contents, and backs to the original display screen (FIG.6A). At this time, if the video capsule menu M264 is selected by theuser, it displays a still image of the content selected by this user, onthe display region for the thumbnail image, and switches the content tobe played back to the user-selected contents by the user's operation ofthe touch panel 39 within this display region, or by selecting againthis content through the touch panel 39, and then backs to the originaldisplay screen. Similarly, in response to the user's selection throughthe touch panel 39, it displays the list of content with regard to thefolder selected by the user in accordance with the selection of the playlist menu M263.

Thus, on this display, the menus of the upper hierarchy and the lowerhierarchy are displayed at the same time. Thereby, in the operationthrough the touch panel 39, it is able to directly select any menu ofthe upper hierarchy and the lower hierarchy, without tracking thehierarchical structure. On the other hand, in the operation through theremote commander 40, a desired menu can be selected by switching focuseswhile tracking the hierarchical structure. Therefore, the same menuscreens as the touch panel 39 and the remote commander 40 are providedso as to improve usability to the user.

In these processing, when the operation of the scroll bar B2, and themenus MU, MD are detected, the controller 33 causes the list display tobe scrolled by this operation. That is, if the menu MU for instructingan upward scroll is operated, the list display is scrolled upwardly. Tothe contrary, if the menu MD for instructing a downward scroll, the listdisplay is scrolled downwardly. Whereas about the scroll bar B2, a listdisplay is scrolled to the side operated by the operation of dragging.

This enables to reliably select a desired menu even in a case where themenus of the upper hierarchy and the lower hierarchy are displayed atthe same time, and all of the menus cannot be displayed. Thus, in thein-vehicle apparatus 1, the size of screen used for display is limited,so that a slight increase in the number of contents causes the caseswhere all the menus cannot be displayed. Therefore the application tothe in-vehicle apparatus 1 enables to improve usability to user.

Thus, with regard to the operation through the remote commander 40, ifthe center jog 46 of the remote commander 40 is operated with the listscreen so displayed, or in a case where the display is switched to thislist screen by the operation of the remote commander 40, the controller33 displays the menu on which the focus is set, by switching abackground color in these menus M261 to M265. It also switches focusesby these menus M261 to M265, in response to the rotational operation ofthe center jog 46. In response to the operation of the forward operator47, or in response to the press-operation of the center jog 46, itswitches the focus to the display relating to the list display, andindicates the focus by similar switching of background colors.

Thus, with the focus set on the list display, the controller 33 switchesfocuses in sequence in response to the rotational operation of thecenter jog 46, and scrolls the list display such that the menu sofocused is always displayed. In the state of such focusing, in responseto the operation of the forward operator 47, or in response to thepress-operation of the center jog 46, the controller 33 accepts theselection of content and folder by the user, and switches the playbacktarget to the selected content, and switches the folder as a selectiontarget. To the contrary, when the back operator 48 is operated, itswitches the setting of focuses to the menus M261 to M265.

Accordingly, the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is configured such that desiredcontent can be selected and viewed from video content stored in the harddisk drive 35 by the operation of the touch panel 39, or by theoperation of the remote commander 40.

In the in-vehicle apparatus 1, various setting screens are displayed bythe selection of the setting menu M265 set on the screen of FIG. 6B, orby the setting through the menu screen displayed by the operation of themenu operators 15R, 15P. It is settable so as not to display the controlbar B1 by the operation of the menu set on this setting screen.Alternatively, it is also settable so as not to display the control barB1 by the operation of the menu M28 shown in FIG. 6A.

FIG. 7A is a front view showing a main display screen in a case where itis configured so as not to display the control bar B1, in contrast toFIG. 6A. When the operation of the touch panel 39 is detected in acondition that the control bar B1 is not displayed, a control bar B11 isdisplayed, as shown in FIG. 7B. Thereby, in displaying attributeinformation as information related to images, the in-vehicle apparatus 1is configured so as not to display it for a time period during which theattribute information is not required, but display it only whennecessary, at a corner of the screen. This effectively avoids complexityof display in order to provide a user interface relating to a simpledisplay.

By setting the timing of displaying such information related to imagesat the timing corresponding to the operation of the user, it is able toprovide this attribute information to the user at his/her desiredtiming, thereby improving usability to user.

Here, the control bar B11 is, in contrast to the corresponding controlbar B1 (FIG. 6A), configured so as not to display the menus M21 to M27,which are the OFF menu M21, and the menus of the rewind, theback-to-previous chapter, the switching of playback/pause, theforward-to-next chapter, the fast forward, and the list display.However, display the title of content, and the switching menu M28 forswitching display/non-display of the control bar B11.

In a case where no operation of user is detected after an elapse of acertain period of time since the display of the control bar B11 is sostarted, or when the switching menu M28 is operated to close the displaywindow, the controller 33 terminates the display of the control bar B11and displays the original screen (FIG. 7A). Thereby, in the in-vehicleapparatus 1, the menus relating to the operations of the touch panel 39and the remote commander 40 are retreated from the display screen 11when they are not required, and content are displayed in order toeffectively use the display screen 11.

On the other hand, when the operation on a portion other than theswitching menu M28 to close the display window of the control bar B11 isdetected, the controller 33 displays the menus M21 to M27, which havebeen hidden from the display screen. The display changes at this timeare as shown in FIGS. 7C to 7E. Gradually from the left end of the menuM28, the menus M22 to M27 are removed and displayed to the center, inorder to display these menus M22 to M27, as if the menus M22 to M27hidden under the menu M28 appeared and moved to a visible position. Whenthe menus M22 to M27 are displayed in this way and the display regionfor titles is not enough, the titles are scrolled to be displayed. Theoperation of the user is accepted with the menus M21 to M28 displayed inthis way.

Thereby, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, with regard to the display ofthe control bar B11, the display of menus is switched between a state ofoverlapping a plurality of menus and a state of arranging the overlappedmenus, so that the region for displaying attribute information and theregion for displaying the plurality of menus are variable. This alsoenables that the attribute information and the menus are suitablydisplayed so as to be user-friendly, in order to simplify the display.

When the center jog 46 of the remote commander 40 is operated with thecontrol bar B1 so set in the non-display state, the controller 33displays the control bar B11 displaying all the menus M21 to M28. Alsoin this case, if no operation of the user is detected after a certainperiod of time has passed since the display was started, or if theswitching menu M28 is operated to close the display window, thecontroller 33 terminates this display of the control bar B11. With thecontrol bar B11 displayed, the focus is displayed to accept theoperation through the remote commander 40, as in a case of regularlydisplaying the control bar B11.

In a case where the menu M1 for instructing viewing and listening oftelevision broadcasts is selected on the program menu screen, thecontroller 33 displays contents, the control bar, and the like, inaccordance with the record of the last memory, as above described withreference to FIG. 6A to FIG. 7B, and also switches the contents relatingto the broadcasts, in response to the operation of user. Therefore, inthis case, a menu for instructing up and down of the channels, a menufor instructing the display of a list of contents that can be viewed onan electronic program table, and the like are displayed at the controlbar, together with the titles of contents. In addition, with regard toselectable contents, a list of programs is provided which is based onthe electronic program table obtained via the communication unit 34.

Also in this display relating to the television broadcasts, thecontroller 33 displays the control bar display/non-display menu. By theselection of this menu, or by the operation of the menu set on this menuscreen, it is settable so as not to display the control bar. It acceptsthe operation of user by setting so as not to display the control barand displaying contents, alternatively, as above described withreference to FIG. 7A to FIG. 7E, the control bar is displayed by theoperation of the touch panel 39 or the operation of the remote commander40, or by displaying the menus. Thus, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1,even in a case of providing the content of television broadcasts, themenus relating to the operations of the touch panel 39 and the remotecommander 40 are retreated from the display screen 11, and contents aredisplayed so as to effectively use the display screen 11.

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a main display screen of music contentrelating to the menu M3 on the program menu screen. By the selection ofthe menus M3, M3R, the controller 33 plays back music content recordedin the hard disk drive 35 in accordance with the record of the lastmemory, and provides it to the user. At this time, the controller 33displays this display screen shown in FIG. 8.

In this case, the controller 33 displays a title indicating musiccontent provision, at a strip portion on the upper side of the displayscreen. Further, a back menu M31, a title menu M32, a genre menu M33, anartist menu M34, a play list menu M35, and an album menu M36 aredisposed in sequence on the left side of the screen. Here, the musiccontent recorded in the hard disk drive 35 is recorded so that it can beclassified by title, genre, artist, play list, and album. In accordancewith this classification, the controller 33 displays a list of the musiccontent recorded in the hard disk drive 35 at a list display column onthe right side, in response to user's selection of the menus M32 to M36.

On this display screen, a display column of an artist name, an albumname, etc., relating to such selection is formed at the center, and alist of providable content relating to each classification is displayedon the next right column. In a case where all of selectable contentcannot be displayed on the display region of this list, the controller33 displays the selectable content by scrolling of this list display,and also indicates by the arrow the direction in which scroll ispossible, on the left side of this list. Therefore, in the example ofFIG. 8, upward and downward arrows are provided to indicate that thelist of contents exists extending beyond above and below the displayregion. Also in this case, the controller 33 displays the scroll bar B2on the right side of this list display, and also displays menus BU, BDfor instructing upward and downward scrolls, respectively, on the topand the bottom of the scroll bar B2. Further, the control bar B1 is alsodisplayed on a lower part of the screen on this list screen. In thislist, the focused menu is displayed so as to project to the left.

By the operation of these menus M31 to M36 through the touch panel 39,and the operation of the list display control bar B1, the controller 33switches content as a playback target so as to correspond to theselection operation of user, in the same manner as above described withreference to FIGS. 6A-6B, and FIGS. 7A-7E. Also in this case, the upperhierarchical menus and the lower hierarchical menus are displayed at thesame time, so that the operations through the touch panel 39 and theremote commander 40 are accepted. When the operations of the scroll barB2, and the menus MU, MD are detected, the controller 33 scrolls thelist display in accordance with this operation. Therefore, in a casewhere the menus of a plurality of hierarchies are displayed at the sametime and all of the menus cannot be displayed, the menus that cannot bedisplayed are displayed by scroll.

Further on this display screen, a visualizer menu for switching a wallpaper composed of animated images, which is displayed at the displayregion of artist names, a menu for instructing shuffle playback, and amenu for instructing repetitive playback are disposed in sequence on theleft end of the control bar B1. The menus of rewind,back-to-previous-title, pause/regeneration, forward-to-next-title, fastforward, list, control bar display/non-display are displayed in sequenceon the right side.

Thus, immediately after displaying this display screen, the controller33 displays, with regard to the music content currently provided touser, a list of content relating to the album being played back. By theoperation of the list menu disposed at the control bar B1, the displayof the above-mentioned list display column can be switched from the listdisplay of titles currently played back to a list display of providablecontents. In response to this display switching, the focus is switchedfrom the menus of the control bar B1 to the menus M31 to M36, withrespect to the operation of the remote commander 40. Thereby, the menusof three hierarchies, including the control bar B1, are displayed onthis display screen of the music content.

Thus, relating to the control bar B1, the controller 33 is configured toaccept the operations through the touch panel 39 and the remotecommander 40, and switch the entire operation in the same manner asdescribed above. As a result, in this case, the menus of the threehierarchies are directly selectable in the operation through the touchpanel 39.

On the other hand, FIG. 9 is a plan view showing a main display screenof a map. When the menu M4 relating to maps is selected on the programmenu screen, the controller 33 displays a peripheral map of the currentposition. It also displays information D1 related to this map display ata strip region on the upper end of the screen. Alternatively, when theuser previously instructed navigation processing, the controller 33displays information relating to the navigation, together with thisstrip region.

In this previous setting, a menu screen shown in FIG. 10 is displayedand executed by the operations of the menu operator 15P disposed on thepanel, and the menu operator 15R disposed at the remote commander 40. Onthis display screen, a destination input menu that is the menu of theuppermost hierarchy in the menus relating to navigation, and the likeare displayed on the right side. The menus of a lower hierarchy selectedfrom the menus on the left side are displayed at the center, and themenus of a further lower hierarchy are displayed on the rightmost end.FIG. 9 shows the state in which a place menu is selected on the menus ofthis upper hierarchy, and then a genre menu corresponding to this placemenu is selected.

The controller 33 is configured to accept the input of a destination bythe selection of the menus in this hierarchical structure, and executeprocessing of a route search from the current position to thedestination, and guide the user in accordance with this route. Also inthis case, the menus of the three hierarchies are displayed at the sametime. Therefore, for example, if user erroneously selects the genremenu, it is configured so as to directly select the menus of peripheralfacilities search and the like, depending on the operation of the touchpanel 39. On the other hand, in a case with the remote commander 40, itis configured such that a desired menu is selectable by switchingfocuses in sequence and tracking the hierarchical structure.

In the in-vehicle apparatus 1, the above-mentioned control bardisplay/non-display can be set per menu of the menus M1 to M8, as wellas split ratio on two-screen display to be described later, by theoperation of the setting menus on this display screen.

The display screen of FIG. 9 is a display screen when the navigationprocessing is executed under such setting. Although in the example ofFIG. 9, the surroundings of the current position are displayed by map,various displays such as display in the form of birds-eye view, etc. areselectable on this display.

When the information D1 relating to the display of maps is displayed asdescribed above, and the display relating to scale is operated throughthe operation of the touch panel 39, the controller 33 displays the menuof switchable scales, the menu of wide area, and the menu of details, asshown in FIG. 11, and switches the scale of map display when the scalemenu is selected through the operation of the touch panel 39.Alternatively, if the menu of wide area or the menu of details isselected, the scale of map display is switched stepwise in sequence, inaccordance with the setting of this scale menu. Relating to this, whenthe zoom-up and zoom-down operator 42 is operated through the remotecommander 40, in the state of displaying the menus such as scales, or inthe state of not displaying the menus such as scales, the controller 33switches the scales of map display stepwise in sequence, in the samemanner as the case where the menu of wide area or the menu of details isselected, respectively.

Alternatively, if the user touches with his/her finger on a map displaythrough the operation of the touch panel 39, the map display is movedsuch that the finger-touched portion becomes the center of the map.Alternatively, if the joystick 43 is operated in the remote commander40, the map is scrolled in the direction of operation of the joystick43. Alternatively, when the current position operator 44 is operated inthe remote commander 40, the display of the map is switched such thatthe current position is located at the center of the screen.Accordingly, the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is configured such that the mapdisplay can be switched variously through the remote commander 40 orthrough the touch panel 39.

In the in-vehicle apparatus 1, on the display screen relating to thismap display, the display of the information D1 relating to the mapdisplay is terminated by the setting on the menu screen as abovedescribed with reference to FIG. 10. Thus, by configuring so as not todisplay the information D1 relating to the map display, in thenavigation processing, the information D1 related to the map display isdisplayed at the timing with reference to a guide point that is areference point used in route guide, as shown in FIG. 12A to FIG. 12D,and voice guide is provided to the user at a predetermined timing.Specifically, this timing is, for example, timing prior to apredetermined time at which the arrival of the guide point isforecasted. Also in this case, the controller 33 provides the uservarious information by gradually switching displays, as if the displayof the information D1, which has been hidden till then on the outside ofthe display screen, appeared on the display screen 11, as indicated bythe changes at the time of starting the display in the order of FIG. 12Ato FIG. 12D.

Alternatively, the information D1 relating to the map display is usuallynot displayed, and the information D1 is displayed when the useroperation relating to the region displaying the information D1 isdetected with the touch panel 39.

Therefore, also in this case, the in-vehicle apparatus 1 is configuredsuch that the displayable region is effectively used to provide the userthe information relating to maps.

On the other hand, the main display screen relating to the AUX inputmenu M5 is formed according to the content relating to the AUX input, inthe same manner as the above-mentioned display screen relating to theviewing of video content and the above-mentioned display screen relatingto the listening to music content, which are recorded in the hard diskdrive 35. Also in this case, the display screen 11 is effectively usedin order to prevent deterioration of usability to user, by configuringsuch that the control bar B1 is not displayed as required, or displayedas required.

On the other hand, the main display screen relating to the Internet menuM6 is formed by displaying web pages and the like, together with themenus of forward, back, and the like. The display screen relating to theelectronic mail menu M7 is formed by displaying the menus of receivemails, sending mails, mail creation, and the like. It is configured suchthat contents are displayed by the selection of each mail, or a mailcreation screen and the like are displayed. The main display screen ofthe menu M8 relating to still images is formed by displaying a menu foroperation relating to still images, together with the thumbnail imagesof respective still images. By the selection of the thumbnail image, thecorresponding still image is displayed in an enlarged scale.Alternatively, the selection of the menu enables to execute the displayof a slide show, and the like.

Also on these display screens, the controller 33 is configured to acceptselection of the menu by the operation through the touch panel 39 andthe operation through the remote commander 40, and further acceptdisplay switching and the like.

In selecting the menus M1 to M8 through this program menu screen, when amenu other than the menus M1 to M3 for providing contents is selected byuser, under conditions where contents is being provided to the user byany one of sources, the controller 33 continues to execute provision ofthe contents and raise processing relating to the menu selected by theuser. This enables the in-vehicle apparatus 1 to execute processing ofchecking electronic mails or the like, while enjoying music, forexample.

On the other hand, in selecting the menus M1 to M8 through this programmenu screen, when other menu for providing contents is selected, under acondition where content is being provided to the user by any one ofsources, the controller 33 suspends providing of the content provided tothe user until then, and plays back the content selected by the user.Thereby, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, the source relating to thiscontents can be switched by displaying the program as above describedwith reference to FIG. 4 or FIG. 5, and selecting the menus M1 to M3.

Even by the press-operation of the source operator 13P disposed on thecontrol panel, or the source operator 13R disposed at the remotecommander 40, instead of the operation through this program menu screen,the controller 33 starts the operation of the corresponding applicationand also switches the application, as in a case where the menus M1 to M3relating the source of content are operated.

In other words, the controller 33 starts the operations of respectiveunits in the same state as the time of turning power down, by the user'soperation of the power switch 12. When this state is the state wherecontent is provided to the user by the application of any one of themenus M1 to M3, the controller 33 switches sequentially and cyclicallythe source provided to the user, in response to the operation of thesource operators 13P, 13R, as indicated by an arrow A in FIG. 13. InFIG. 13, “Audio” and “Video”, denote the applications relating to musiccontent and video content recorded in the hard disk drive 35,respectively, and “TV” denotes the application relating to televisionbroadcasts.

On the other hand, when the operations of respective units are startedin the same state as the time of turning power down, and this state isnot caused by the application relating to the menus M1 to M3, the mostrecently used application is restarted in accordance with the record ofso-called last memory, in a state at the point where the use issuspended. Also in this case, the display relating to the startedapplication is preferentially displayed on the display screen 11.Therefore, as indicated by an arrow B in FIG. 13, when the sourceoperators 13P, 13R are operated with no content provided, and with a mapdisplayed, the controller 33 is configured to switch the display of themap to the display relating to content, and start to provide thecontent.

Thereby, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, desired contents can be selectedeasily by only repeatedly doing press-operation of the source operators13P, 13R, so that usability is improved to that extent.

On the other hand, when the map controller 17P disposed on the controlpanel, and the map operator 17R disposed in the remote commander 40 areoperated under a condition where certain content is provided to user,the controller 33 starts the application relating to the menu M4, andswitches the display of the display screen 11 to the display of a map,as indicated by an arrow C in FIG. 13. Thereby, in the in-vehicleapparatus 1, the present position and the like can be confirmed easilyonly by operating the map operators 17P, 17R, under a condition ofenjoying video content by television broadcasts, video content and musiccontent recorded in the hard disk drive 35.

Thus, the controller 33 displays a map by the operation of the mapoperators 17P, 17R, and switches the display of the display screen 11 tothe display of content when the map operators 17P, 17R are operatedagain. Thereby, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, repetitive operation ofthe map operators 17P, 17R enables to switch between display/non-displayof a map. This also permits to improve usability.

In the display switching by the map operators 17P, 17R, and the displayswitching by the source operators 13P, 13R, it is set so as to transit,for example, from a lower hierarchical screen relating to the display oflists and the like, not only from a state where the main display screenof each application is displayed. This also permits to improve usabilityin urgent confirmation of the current position and the like.

The controller 33 also switches displays between the applicationrelating to provision of content and the application of maps, when theuser operates the display operators 16P, 16R, which are operators forswitching displays. At this time, if no contents is being provided tothe user, it starts the most recently used application relating toprovision of contents, in accordance with the record of the last memory,and switches displays.

As shown in FIG. 14B, at this time, while a two-screen display, in whichthe displays relating to two applications are aligned and displayedconcurrently, is interposed by the previous setting with use of the menuscreen (FIG. 10), it switches the displays sequentially and cyclicallyby the operation of the display operators 16P, 16R. In the applicationof the menu M3 relating to provision of music content, the display ofsuch a two-screen display is omitted because this is not provision ofcontent composed of images. Thereby, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, theprocessing of checking a map relating to navigation, and the like isexecutable, while checking, for example, the running commentary oftelevision broadcasts by merely switching the display screen 11.

As shown in FIG. 14A, in a case where two-screen display is instructedby the user, when the display operators 16P, 16R is press-operated bythe user, for example, under a condition where a map is displayed, thecontroller 33 switches the display of the display screen 11 totwo-screen display, and reduces the image relating to provision ofcontent on the right side, and displays the map at the remaining regionon the left side. Subsequently, when the user operates the displayoperators 16P, 16R, the controllers 33 switches the two-screen displayto contents provision screen, as shown in FIG. 14C. It is configured todisplay the original map display screen when the user further operatesthe display operators 16P, 16R.

On the other hand, in a case where user does not instruct two-screendisplay, the controller 33 skips two-screen display, and switchesbetween the display of a map and the display of contents, in response tothe operation of the display operators 16P, 16R.

In the two-screen display displayed in this way, the controller 33 setsthe display size of each screen in accordance with the division ratiopreviously set using the menu screen (FIG. 10). This enables to executeconcurrently the displays of such two applications, thereby improvingusability to the user.

FIG. 15 is a plan view showing a display screen at the time of switchingdisplays between a map and content. This display is applicable to a mapscreen, a content provision screen, and a two-screen display, when thedisplay is switched between a map and a contents provision screen, bythe operation through the source operators 13P, 13R, and the mapoperators 17P, 17R, as described above with reference to FIG. 13, andthe display operators 16P, 16R as described above with reference to FIG.14A to FIG. 14C. The example shown in FIG. 15 is a case to which thecontent provision screen is applied.

The controller 33 displays the information D1 related to the map displayand the control bar B1 relating to provision of content, at upper andlower ends on this display, respectively. Thereby, in the in-vehicleapparatus 1, it is able to check a variety of information related to thecurrent position and navigation, even while viewing content, forexample. As described above with reference to FIGS. 6A and 6B, etc., theoperations of the menus through the control bar B1, the touch panel 39relating to the display of the information D1 related to map display,and the remote commander 40, are accepted in the same manner as in thecase of separately starting applications.

On the other hand, in a case where non-display of the control bar B1 andthe information D1 related to map display are selected by the setting bythe user, when the region for displaying the information D1 related tomap display is operated through the touch panel 39, the controller 33displays the information D1. To the contrary, when the control bar B1side is operated through the touch panel 39, it displays the control barB1. Additionally, various operations by the user are accepted via thisdisplay. Here, the transitions from the non-display state to the displayof the control bar B1 and the information D1 related to map display arecarried out in the same manner as described above with reference toFIGS. 7A-7E, FIGS. 12A-12D, respectively.

On the other hand, in the operation through the remote commander 40, itdisplays concurrently the control bar B1 and the information D1 relatedto map display by the operation of the center jog 46, and switchesfocuses between the display of the control bar B1 and the display of theinformation D1 related to map display, in response to the operation ofthe center jog 46.

Thereby, even when executing two applications at the same time, thedisplayable region of the display screen 11 is effectively used so as toaccept the operation of the user in the in-vehicle apparatus 1. Theexample shown in FIG. 15 is a case of mainly displaying the aforesaidother application side under conditions where the map application andother application are being executed concurrently. In a case ofdisplaying the map side, or in a case of two-screen display, the controlrelating to the displays of the control bar B1, and the information D1related to map display is executed similarly.

Even if the operation is terminated by any operation of the user, withregard to the respective applications corresponding to the menus M1 toM8, the controller 33 records and holds, per application, the state whenthe operation terminates. In the activation of each application, itreproduces the state immediately before termination, in accordance withthis record. Specifically, with regard to the applications of the menusM1 to M3 relating to contents provision, the controller 33 records themost recently played back file name, and the position at which theplayback is suspended, per application (i.e., per source, in this case).With regard to the source relating to video content, there is recordedas to whether it was two-screen display or not, and whether the controlbar B1 was in non-display or not, and whether it was the main screen orthe list screen, at the point of time that the content provision wassuspended.

When switching sources sequentially and cyclically by theabove-mentioned operation of the source operator, the controller 33displays, for example, the content of television broadcasts bytwo-screen display, by starting each application in accordance with thisrecord. In this state, when the user operates the source operator, itdisplays the video content recorded in the hard disk drive 35, on theoverall of the display screen, and the like. Thus, even in switchingsources sequentially and cyclically, it is configured so as to performimage display in the form to meet the preference of user. Accordingly,in this case, the control bar B1 is to be displayed or not displayed,per content. Depending on the content, the list screen is to bedisplayed.

With regard to a specific operation among various operations relating tosuch display, which are assigned to the center jog 46, the controller 33also accepts the operation through a side jog 52. Specifically, thecontroller 33 accepts, through the side jog 52, the operation relatingto contents provision among the operations accepted through the centerjog 46. Additionally, it accepts the operation of the source-offoperator 54, and the back operator 53, which are disposed on the sidesurface in relation with the side jog 52, together with the side jog 52.Here, the source-off operator 54 is an operator for instructing thetermination of the contents-related application in the course of drive.The back operator 53 is an operator for instructing the same operationas the back operator 48 disposed next to the center jog 46.

Thereby, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, the operation relating tospecific contents provision can be operated with the controllersdisposed on the side surface of the remote commander 40, by so-calledblind touch, so that usability is improved to that extent.

Specifically, when the side jog 52 is rotationally operated in a case ofproviding music content to the user, the controller 33 executesprocessing of so-called title skipping in the direction in which theside jog 52 is rotationally operated. Alternatively, when the side jog52 is press-operated, it switches the display to the list screen. Inthis state, it switches focuses and accepts the selection of content bythe user, by the operation of the side jog 52, and then switches thedisplay to the original screen by the operation of the back operator 53.

On the other hand, in providing content by television broadcasts, itswitches the receiving channel by the rotational operation of the sidejog 52. In providing video content recorded in the hard disk drive 35,it executes skip processing in the direction of operation in the unitsof predetermined time, by the rotational operation of the side jog 52.

(2) Operation in Preferred Embodiment

With the foregoing configuration, by mounting the in-vehicle apparatus 1(FIG. 1 and FIG. 2) on the in-vehicle cradle 2A disposed in a vehicle,it receives the supply of power from the vehicle, and is connected tothe external unit 21, and a car audio system 28, etc., which aredisposed in the vehicle, thereby making possible to use in the vehicle.In the in-vehicle apparatus 1, by the operation of the power switch 12,the power is turned on so as to permit to use for navigation, and enjoymusic and video content, and content by television broadcasts, furthercheck the current position.

In the in-vehicle apparatus 1 that is so used for enjoying contents andchecking the current position and the like, the program menu screen thatis a menu of available applications is displayed (FIG. 4, FIG. 5) by theoperation of the remote commander 40 (FIGS. 3A-3C), or the operation ofthe touch panel 39 disposed on the display screen 11. A desiredapplication is activated by the selection of the menu on this programmenu screen. This enables to enjoy, for example, the content bytelevision broadcasts. This also enables to start a plurality ofapplications and display, for example, a map in order to check thecurrent position, while enjoying music, for example.

On the main display screen of each application so displayed by selectingthe application, a menu toward the list screen relating to the selectionof content, and the like are displayed, or various menus relating to theplayback of content, and the like are displayed. Then, by the operationof the touch panel 39, or the operation of the remote commander 40,various operations, such as switching of content by selecting thesemenus, are executable (FIG. 6 to FIG. 12).

Thus, in such a series of operations, by the operation of user relatingto the transition to the program menu screen in the in-vehicle apparatus1, the touch panel menu screen (FIG. 4) suitable for the operationthrough the touch panel 39, and the remote commander menu screen (FIG.5) suitable for the operation through the remote commander 40 areswitched and provided to the user.

Thus, in selecting a menu through the touch panel 39, and in selecting amenu through the remote commander 40, an appropriate user interfacecorresponding to the operation target is provided to the user, therebyimproving usability.

Specifically, the user is able to operate the in-vehicle apparatus 1using either of the remote commander 40 or the touch panel 39. Thisenables to select operating means suitable for the user's situations,for example, in a case where the user himself/herself is driving, or ina case where the user sits on the rear seat, and select an applicationon the menu screen suitable for the operating means. This makes possibleto reduce the burden of passengers under use situations.

In addition, on the touch panel menu screen and the remote commandermenu screen, the corresponding menu screen is provided by the operationof the user, which is a trigger of transition, when the user intends toselect a menu by the operation of the touch panel, and when the userintends to select a menu by the operation of the remote commander,respectively.

That is, if the operation relating to the transition to the program menuscreen is the operation of the operator on the display panel or theoperation of the touch panel, it can be judged that the user relating tothis operation for transition is seated at the front seat and he/sheintends to select a menu by the operation of the touch panel. Therefore,in this case, the program menu screen for touch panel is provided.Alternatively, if the operation relating to the transition to theprogram menu screen is the operation of the remote commander, it can bejudged that the user is seated at the rear seat, for example, and he/sheintends to select a menu by the operation of the remote commander. Inthis case, the menu screen for remote commander is provided. Thereby,the in-vehicle apparatus 1 permits to improve usability to the user inaccepting the operations through the touch panel and the remotecommander.

Even when the menu screen is provided by judging the intention of useras described above, there can be considered, for example, a case where auser different from the user relating to the operation for transitionselects a menu, or a case of directly operating on the display of theprogram menu screen. Hence, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, also in theremote commander menu screen, a menu selection through the touch panel39 is acceptable, thereby improving usability to the user.Alternatively, the display of the remote commander program menu screencan be switched to the touch panel program menu screen by the operationthrough the touch panel at a portion other than the menus. To thecontrary, the touch panel program menu screen can be switched to theremote commander program menu screen by the operation of the remotecommander. This enables to provide the menu screen that exactly reflectsthe intention of the user, thereby further improving usability to theuser.

Thus, in the in-vehicle apparatus 1, this touch panel menu screen isformed by displaying a plurality of menus at the same size, therebyproviding the menu screen suitable for operation, to the touch panel onwhich it is able to directly operate any menu.

On the other hand, the remote commander 40 is one in which selection ismade by setting a focus, and therefore in the in-vehicle apparatus 1,the remote commander menu screen is a screen on which a plurality ofmenus are displayed to visibly confirm a focused menu, and the focus canbe switched by the operation of the remote commander, so that the menuscreen suitable for the operation of the remote commander is provided.

(3) Effects of Preferred Embodiment

With the foregoing configuration, in a case of accepting the operationthrough the touch panel and the remote commander by switching anddisplaying the touch panel menu screen suitable for the operationthrough the touch panel, and the remote commander menu screen suitablefor the operation through the remote commander to accept the operationby the user, usability to the user can be improved.

Additionally, the menu screen specifically suitable for the operationthrough the touch panel can be provided by the feature that the touchpanel menu screen is a screen on which a plurality of menus aredisplayed at the same size.

Additionally, the menu screen specifically suitable for the operationthrough the remote commander can be provided by the feature that theremote commander menu screen is a screen on which a plurality of menusare displayed to visibly confirm a focused menu, and by switchingfocuses through the operation of the remote commander.

Additionally, by accepting a menu selection through the touch panel onthe remote commander menu screen, a desired menu is selectable by directoperation through the touch panel, irrespective of the menu selection bythe operation of the remote commander, and the flow of operation fordecision. This improves usability to the user.

It is also able to exactly understand the intention of the operation bythe user and provide the menu screen suitable for the operation, byexecuting through the operation of the remote commander, the switchingfrom the touch panel menu screen to the remote commander menu screen,and executing, through the operation of the touch panel, the switchingfrom remote commander menu screen for remote commander to the touchpanel menu screen.

Example 2

Although the foregoing preferred embodiment describes the case ofproviding the remote commander menu screen by displaying the menus atdifferent sizes and in the shape of a ring, the present invention is notlimited to this case. On the remote commander menu screen, various menudisplay methods are applicable, which can make possible to recognize ata glance which menu is being focused.

Moreover, although the foregoing preferred embodiment describes the caseof applying the present invention to the menu screen used for selectingan application, the present invention is not limited to this case, butmay be applied to the list screen of each application, and the like.

Furthermore, although the foregoing preferred embodiment describes thecase of providing the video and music content recorded in the hard diskdrive, and the video content by television broadcasts, the presentinvention is not limited to this case, but widely applicable to the caseof providing various contents by various sources.

Moreover, although the foregoing preferred embodiment describes the caseof applying the present invention to the in-vehicle apparatus, thepresent invention is not limited to this case, but applicable widely tovarious multimedia terminals such as personal digital assistants (PDA)and portable telephones.

The present invention relates to the in-vehicle apparatus and the imagedisplay method, and is applicable to, for example, a multimedia terminalhaving the function of navigation equipment and the function of videoregeneration.

The invention claimed is:
 1. An electronic device comprising: circuitryconfigured to control a display of a touch panel display to switch, inresponse to an operation by a user, between displaying a touch panelmenu screen including one or more menu items arranged in a first layoutand displaying a remote commander menu screen including one or more ofthe menu items arranged in a second layout different from the firstlayout, the one or more menu items in the second layout changing in apredetermined sequence in accordance with an operation of the remotecommander; accept a signal indicating an operation received from theuser via either of the remote commander or the touch panel selecting oneof the one or more menu items displayed in a currently displayed menuscreen; perform processing corresponding to the selected one of the oneor more menu items; perform processing corresponding to a first menuitem of the one or more menu items in response to a touch operationreceived by the touch panel display selecting the first menu item in theremote commander menu screen; and switch the display from displaying theremote commander menu screen to displaying the touch panel menu screenin response to a touch operation received at a portion of the touchpanel display other than a portion in which the one or more menu itemsare displayed.
 2. The electronic device of claim 1, wherein the one ormore of the menu items in the first layout are different in size fromthe one or more of the menu items in the second layout.
 3. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more of the menu itemsin the first layout includes same icon design as the one or more of themenu items in the second layout.
 4. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the one or more of the menu items in the first layout include atleast one menu item that is not included in one or more of the menuitems in the second layout.
 5. The electronic device of claim 1, whereinthe circuitry is configured to switch the display from displaying thetouch panel menu screen to displaying the remote commander menu screenin response to an operation of the remote commander.
 6. The electronicdevice of claim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to control thedisplay to display a cursor indicating a focused menu item in the secondlayout.
 7. The electronic device of claim 1, further comprising: anexternal memory slot configured to communicatively connect to anexternal memory, wherein the circuitry is configured to control thedisplay to display content received from the external memory.
 8. Theelectronic device of claim 1, further comprising: a communicationinterface configured to output a signal for displaying content at anexternal display in response to at least one of a touch panel operationor a remote commander operation.
 9. The electronic device of claim 1,further comprising: a wireless communication interface configured towirelessly communicate with another device.
 10. The electronic device ofclaim 1, wherein the circuitry is configured to: communicate with aglobal positioning system (GPS) device; and control the display based onan output of the GPS device.
 11. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein the one or more menu items are displayed on the display.
 12. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the one or more of the menu itemsin the first layout are the same in size from the one or more of themenu items in the second layout.
 13. The electronic device of claim 1,wherein a selection of a menu item displayed in the remote commandermenu screen is received via an input to the touch panel.
 14. Theelectronic device of claim 1, wherein the touch panel is integrated intothe display.
 15. A non-transitory computer-readable medium configured tostore computer-executable instructions, which when executed by circuitryof an electronic device, cause the electronic device to: control adisplay of a touch panel display to switch, in response to an operationby a user, between displaying a touch panel menu screen including one ormore of menu items arranged in a first layout and displaying a remotecommander menu screen including one or more of the menu items arrangedin a second layout different from the first layout, the one or more menuitems in the second layout changing in a predetermined sequence inaccordance with an operation of the remote commander; accept a signalindicating an operation received from the user via either of the remotecommander or the touch panel selecting one of the one or more menu itemsdisplayed in a currently displayed menu screen; perform processingcorresponding to the selected one of the one or more menu items performprocessing corresponding to a first menu item of the one or more menuitems in response to a touch operation received by the touch paneldisplay selecting the first menu item in the remote commander menuscreen; and switch the display from displaying the remote commander menuscreen to displaying the touch panel menu screen in response to a touchoperation received at a portion of the touch panel display other than aportion in which the one or more menu items are displayed.
 16. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one ormore of the menu items in the first layout are different in size fromthe one or more of the menu items in the second layout.
 17. Thenon-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one ormore of the menu items in the first layout include at least one menuitem that is not included in one or more of the menu items in the secondlayout.
 18. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause theelectronic device to: switch the display from displaying the touch panelmenu screen to displaying the remote commander menu screen in responseto an operation of the remote commander.
 19. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-executableinstructions further cause the electronic device to: control the displayto display a cursor indicating a focused menu item in the second layout.20. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein thecomputer-executable instructions further cause the electronic device to:control the display to display content received from an external memorycommunicatively coupled to an external memory slot of the electronicdevice.
 21. The non-transitory computer-readable medium of claim 15,wherein the computer-executable instructions further cause theelectronic device to: control a communication interface of theelectronic device to output a signal for displaying content at anexternal display in response to at least one of a touch panel operationor a remote commander operation.
 22. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the electronic deviceincludes a wireless communication interface configured to wirelesslycommunicate with another device.
 23. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the computer-executableinstructions further cause the electronic device to: control the displaybased on an output of a global positioning system (GPS) devicecommunicatively coupled to the circuitry.
 24. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein the one or more menu menusitems are displayed on the display.
 25. The non-transitorycomputer-readable medium of claim 15, wherein a selection of a menu itemdisplayed in the remote commander menu screen is received via an inputto the touch panel.
 26. An electronic device comprising: circuitryconfigured to receive a user input via a touch panel and a remotecommander; control a display to switch, in response to an operation by auser, between displaying a touch panel menu screen including one or moremenu items arranged in a first layout and displaying a remote commandermenu screen including one or more menu items arranged in a second layoutdifferent from the first layout, the one or more menu items in thesecond layout changing in a predetermined sequence in accordance with anoperation of the remote commander; perform processing corresponding to afirst menu item of the one or more menu items in response to a touchoperation received by the touch panel selecting the first menu item inthe remote commander menu screen; and switch the display from displayingthe remote commander menu screen to displaying the touch panel menuscreen in response to a touch operation received at a portion of thetouch panel other than a portion in which the one or more menu items aredisplayed.
 27. An electronic device comprising: means for receiving auser input via a touch panel and a remote commander; and means forcontrolling a display to switch, in response to an operation by a user,between displaying a touch panel menu screen including one or more menuitems arranged in a first layout and displaying a remote commander menuscreen including one or more menu items arranged in a second layoutdifferent from the first layout, the one or more menu items in thesecond layout changing in a predetermined sequence in accordance with anoperation of the remote commander; means for perform processingcorresponding to a first menu item of the one or more menu items inresponse to a touch operation received by the touch panel selecting thefirst menu item in the remote commander menu screen; and means forswitching the display from displaying the remote commander menu screento displaying the touch panel menu screen in response to a touchoperation received at a portion of the touch panel other than a portionin which the one or more menu items are displayed.